Yes, you wouldn't really call these lenses, more like toys, but so far I enjoy playing with them. The Holga 25mm and pinhole are around 16-20 dollars each on ebay and the Lomo Experimental Lens kit is $99.99 (got it new off of e-bay from a local camera store's ebay store for $49.99 and includes all three of the Lomo Experimental Lenses).

It's not really something where you are looking for quality so much as you are looking to toy around and create some interesting and sometimes unpredictable pictures!

I thought the Lomo Experimental kit looked interesting when it came out, but it never got any buzz to speak of, so I've never invested. I'd be interested to hear anyone's experiences with them, however.

I thought the Lomo Experimental kit looked interesting when it came out, but it never got any buzz to speak of, so I've never invested. I'd be interested to hear anyone's experiences with them, however.

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Well so far I've been playing around with them for a couple of days. Inside the house i definitely need to boost the ISO to at least 2000 before anything comes of it. Outside I'm not too sure yet as it is too cold out to go take photo's lately. Apparently Toronto just had it's coldest February in over 20 years (if I recall correctly, don't quote me).

I played around with the T-shutter and got a few multiple exposure shots which was fun. I can't say much about the image quality, but you get what you would expect from a plastic lens. At the same time, it's probably because of the lack of quality, the lo-fi aspect, that makes these lenses fun to play with.

A lot of reviews online say that the main reason why anyone would buy this kit would be the fisheye. That however I must disagree with. Yeah, it's a cute little fisheye that has a view of 160* but I just don't like the fact that around half the screen other than the circular fisheye, is black. I actually much prefer using the 12mm walking around and taking pictures.

Would I pay a full 100 for this kit? Yes I would, they bring me back to just having fun with photography as opposed to photography being a serious matter that needs to be thought out and calculated. I was lucky enough to find a new set on ebay for half the price. I think it may still be available on ebay for that price.

As for the Holga Lenses, those ones I bought in Hong Kong the last time I went back. There was actually a shop in a computer plaza that sold these, a shop that was dedicated specifically to Holga camera's and adapted for all kinds of mounts. These are fun but even more quirky than the ones in the Experimental Lens kit.

Yeah, At first I thought a hundred bucks... I dunno... but I checked ebay and saw it for 50 and I clicked buy it now right away. They really are quite fun to be honest and I don't regret spending the money I did on them.

I bought the 25mm f/8 a few years ago. I think it was about $20. I figured that at that price I couldn't go wrong. As it turns out, I've hardly used it. I always feel like I don't want to risk taking a photo with it and think afterward, "I wish I had used a real lens for that shot."

If I want to make a photo look Lomo-ish, I can always do so in post-processing. Even if the result isn't exactly what I would have gotten with a toy lens, it's usually close enough for my purposes, and I have the advantage of being able to try multiple approaches.

Maybe I'm getting more frugal as I get older, but if I had it to do over again, I would not buy this lens. Twenty bucks is twenty bucks. That's money that could go toward a more useful piece of gear - or into one's retirement account...

I bought the 25mm f/8 a few years ago. I think it was about $20. I figured that at that price I couldn't go wrong. As it turns out, I've hardly used it. I always feel like I don't want to risk taking a photo with it and think afterward, "I wish I had used a real lens for that shot."

If I want to make a photo look Lomo-ish, I can always do so in post-processing. Even if the result isn't exactly what I would have gotten with a toy lens, it's usually close enough for my purposes, and I have the advantage of being able to try multiple approaches.

Maybe I'm getting more frugal as I get older, but if I had it to do over again, I would not buy this lens. Twenty bucks is twenty bucks. That's money that could go toward a more useful piece of gear - or into one's retirement account...

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Well I've been using lomo film camera's for some time now so maybe that's why it's not really that big of an issue with me. At the same time when I go out with my Oly gear, I always have native lenses on my camera unless I want to take one specifically with the Holga lens. At the same time it does become a bit of a hassle switching to and from sometimes.

I bought the experimental lens kit, but returned it after a weekend outing with it.

Maybe it was my camera, or maybe it was the lens itself, but the locking mechanism never fully kept the lens open. There would always be a shadow where the shutter was and if I held the trigger open manually (that is, past the point of where it would 'lock'), then I could get a clear and unobstructed shot.

I bought the experimental lens kit, but returned it after a weekend outing with it.

Maybe it was my camera, or maybe it was the lens itself, but the locking mechanism never fully kept the lens open. There would always be a shadow where the shutter was and if I held the trigger open manually (that is, past the point of where it would 'lock'), then I could get a clear and unobstructed shot.

That being said, they were fun to use but wasn't worth $100 for me.

I might pick up the Holga at $20, but that would be it.

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That's actually what happened to me at first too. Turns out you need to push it all the way until it clicks. After the first time it clicked its been fine ever since.

I got the 15mm bcl but these lomo and holga lenses are a different character altogether. What i love about these adapted lenses is that they maintain that dreamy look of the lomo film camera's. For fisheye i absolutely love my rokinon fe.

I don't actually use it very often, but I did find it handy at the Great Wall of China (Badaling); the 12-40mm wasn't giving me the FoV I wanted and the FE did.
I'll probably use it more when I go to Europe, as I've heard a UWA is very handy in the streets there.

I don't actually use it very often, but I did find it handy at the Great Wall of China (Badaling); the 12-40mm wasn't giving me the FoV I wanted and the FE did.
I'll probably use it more when I go to Europe, as I've heard a UWA is very handy in the streets there.

Barry

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I nearly bought one last time i went to the camera store, maybe i should take a look at it again haha

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